All-Star Game 2014: Giants’ righty Tim Hudson enjoys defying odds

Share this:

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Hudson (17) pithes against San Diego Padres in the first inning at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, June 24, 2014. (Josie Lepe/Bay Area News Group)

MINNEAPOLIS — At age 39, Tim Hudson is having something of a comeback year following an injury-shortened 2013 season in Atlanta. He wasn’t necessarily expecting to find himself in the All-Star Game, but he’s a man who enjoys defying expectations.

Hudson, who pitched his first six major league seasons with the A’s, went “home” to Atlanta in 2005. The Braves were the nearest team to his home in Alabama, and the future looked pretty well set for a self-proclaimed family man. Hudson would retire as a Brave, and he and his wife, Kim, would raise their three children in the South. But a funny thing happened on the way to the retirement home — Hudson signed a two-year contract with the Giants last winter.

“A lot of people probably raised an eyebrow when I didn’t go back to Atlanta and decided to not only leave Atlanta but come all the way over to the other side of the country. But it’s the place where I’m supposed to be,” said Hudson, whose 39th birthday was Monday. “Coming back out to the Bay Area after spending so many years in Atlanta, it’s just what me and my family needed, and what my career needed. It’s so different that it’s turned out to be really good.”

Hudson, a late addition in the NL squad to replace teammate Madison Bumgarner, said that living in San Francisco proper has given him and his family a welcome opportunity to see life from a different perspective.

“We’ve always been suburb people, and we lived in the East Bay when I was in Oakland,” he said. “This time around we’re staying in the city and my kids are getting that city life experience, which is something you don’t get too much of in Alabama. It’s been an awesome experience, and something that me and my family will always remember.”

As for being named to the All-Star for the fourth time, but the first since 2010, Hudson said he’s honored but doesn’t expect to find himself on the Target Field mound on Tuesday.

“As of right now I think I’m kind of the long, extra-inning guy, which is fine with me. Hopefully we won’t go extra innings and we won’t need me, but if we do, it’s my normal turn to pitch so I could go 100-plus pitches if we need it.”

More in Sports

The Oakland Raiders six-game winning streak ended and they fell out of the pole position in the AFC West with a 21-13 loss on Thursday Night Football to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bay Area News Group’s Jimmy Durkin and Mark Purdy break down the loss from Kansas City, Mo.

Carr had the worst game of his young three-year career, at least statistically and probably overall. He completed just 17 of 41 pass attempts for 117 yards and zero touchdowns, giving him a passer rating of 49.1. In the football statistical world, that is the equivalent of playing Jeopardy and having Alex Trebek take away your buzzer. There were other...

The Raiders and their fan base have every right to be frustrated by a 21-13 loss to the division rival Kansas City Chiefs. It’s a more difficult road, but every goal the Raiders had going in to the game is still on the table